Mothers and Babies in A Brazilian Prison: A Study Exploring the Impact of Prison Conditions

Abstract

In this article, we describe and qualitatively analyze the only prison in the state of São Paulo that houses mothers and babies. By law, Brazilian women inmates are only able to personally care for their babies until they are 6 months old. After such period, babies are placed with relatives or institutionalized. In this study, systematic observations and interviews were conducted with 8 prisoners over a period of 6 months. Results show that the child developmental process inside the prison can be aggravated by two main conditions: there was no possibility for the caretaker and the child to be involved in a series of important activities for child stimulation and the physical condition of the building was inappropriate, causing respiratory diseases in the children and subpar sleeping conditions for mothers and babies.

Exclusive breastfeeding among people in prison: an intersectional and abolitionist approach to analyzing scientific production in Brazil from 2000 to 2022

“…In the present review, the studies recorded participants' questions regarding breastfeeding time (Diuana;Corrêa;Ventura, 2017;Rios;Silva, 2010;Cavalcanti et al, 2018;Mariano;Silva, 2018;Medeiros et al, 2020) and repeatedly denounced the lack of adequate structural conditions for EBF in penitentiaries. The various obstacles identified included the lack of quality food for breastfeeding women (Fochi et al, 2017;Silva et al, 2011), insufficient health care (Rios;Silva, 2010;Pícoli et al, 2014;Oliveira, 2011;Stella et al, 2016;Medeiros et al, 2020), very unfavorable environment for child development (Silva et al, 2011), described as cold, dark, cruel, and unhygienic (Monteiro et al, 2011), and the lack of a family support network (Oliveira;Miranda;Costa, 2015;Silva et al, 2011;Medeiros et al, 2020).…”

“…The first layer revealed professional approaches centered on the biomedical model of health care and focused on children (Stella et al, 2016;Guimarães et al, 2018), amid insufficient guidance on the promotion and management of EBF, breast care, and maternal health (Silva et al, 2011;Oliveira, 2011;Pícoli et al, 2014). In a supervisory tone, breastfeeding was portrayed as a conditional element for mothers and babies to continue together (Guimarães et al, 2018;Stella et al, 2016), without considering related socio-emotional aspects.…”

“…The first layer revealed professional approaches centered on the biomedical model of health care and focused on children (Stella et al, 2016;Guimarães et al, 2018), amid insufficient guidance on the promotion and management of EBF, breast care, and maternal health (Silva et al, 2011;Oliveira, 2011;Pícoli et al, 2014). In a supervisory tone, breastfeeding was portrayed as a conditional element for mothers and babies to continue together (Guimarães et al, 2018;Stella et al, 2016), without considering related socio-emotional aspects. In the work by Santos et al (2018), the standardized application of nursing diagnoses, according to the NANDA-I taxonomy 2 , classified all situations as risk of interrupted breastfeeding and impaired mother-child bonding, poor knowledge about breastfeeding, ineffective sexuality pattern and poor recreational activity.…”

Aleitamento materno exclusivo entre pessoas em situação de cárcere: abordagem interseccional e abolicionista para análise da produção científica no Brasil entre 2000 e 2022

“…Na presente revisão, os estudos registraram, inclusive, os questionamentos das participantes quanto ao tempo de amamentação (Diuana;Corrêa;Ventura, 2017;Rios;Silva, 2010;Cavalcanti et al, 2018;Mariano;Silva, 2018;Medeiros et al, 2020) e denunciaram reiteradamente a falta de condições estruturais adequadas para o AME nas penitenciárias. Entre os diversos obstáculos, identificaram-se a ausência de qualidade na alimentação das lactantes (Fochi et al, 2017;Silva et al, 2011), a insuficiência da assistência à saúde (Rios;Silva, 2010;Pícoli et al, 2014;Oliveira, 2011;Stella et al, 2016;Medeiros et al, 2020), o ambiente muito pouco favorável ao desenvolvimento infantil (Silva et al, 2011), descrito como frio, escuro, cruel e sem higiene (Monteiro et al, 2011), e a falta de rede de apoio familiar (Oliveira;Miranda;Costa, 2015;Silva et al, 2011;Medeiros et al, 2020).…”

“…Na primeira camada, foram desveladas abordagens profissionais centradas no modelo biomédico de atenção à saúde e com foco na criança (Stella et al, 2016;Guimarães et al, 2018), em meio a orientações insuficientes sobre a promoção e o manejo do AME, os cuidados com as mamas e a saúde materna (Silva et al, 2011;Oliveira, 2011;Pícoli et al, 2014). Em tônica fiscalizatória, o aleitamento foi retratado como elemento condicional para que mães e bebês sigam juntos (Guimarães et al, 2018;Stella et al, 2016), sem considerações a aspectos socioemocionais relacionados.…”